The present ‘Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture' consists of several researchful materials on the architectural features of Indian temples contributed by well-known scholars of India.
The work begins with an introduction to the 'Indus Civilization' that flourished in the Indus Valley region (now in Pakistan) in the 3rd-2nd millennia BCE. The two most important sites-Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa-reveal a marked degree of controlled urban planning that reached the height of their development between 2600 and 1900 BCE. The architectural features include the Great Bath in the citadel at Mohenjo-Daro, with its central rectangular water basin surrounded by small chambers, and the elevated platforms divided into smaller squares by narrow passages. They were found at both Mohenjo-daro and Harappa and tentatively identified as granaries. Although the written records of the Indus Civilization remain undeciphered, the Great Bath and granaries may have had some religious purpose. The Harappan Civilization or the Indus Valley came to light through unexpected archaeological discoveries from 1924 onwards at Harappa in the Punjab and Mohenjo-Daro in Sind. The most striking feature of the excavated sites of the Harappan Civilization was the perfection of its town planning according to a master plan. These cities were built up directly as urban centres planned as integrated units. On the west of both cities-Harappa and Mohenjo-daro-rose the citadel with fortified walls enclosing big buildings, probably used for some public royal or religious purposes-assembly halls granaries, baths and what may have been some form of temples. The building materials and methods of construction show remarkable uniformity. The drainage and water supply system also showed a great advance. According to Sir Mortimer Wheeler, this excellent sanitation system is unparalleled in pre-classical times. The high standard of town planning and sanitation, with a sufficient water supply and drainage system, makes the Indus Valley or Harappan Culture outstanding among all the ancient cultures. Mohenjo-Daro, a modern Sind word meaning 'place of the dead', lies in the Larkhan district of Sind. The general plan of the city is almost identical to that of Harappa. The chief building in the Mohenjo-daro citadel is the so-called great bath, a complex of verandahs and rooms ranging around the sides of a rectangular pool. A pillared verandah surrounded all the sides of the pool, with rooms beyond. To the west of the great bath there was the granary, a structure of immense significance says Sir Mortimer Wheeler. The discovery of this structure strengthens the view that in a Bronge Age economy, granaries correspond to state banks or treasuries. The overall picture presented by the great bath, the imposing granary, the so-called college and the assembly hall inside a well-fortified encircling wall indicates a stable seat of power. Discovered by Majumdar (1931) and excavated by Macay, Chanhudaro lies about 129 km south of Mohenjo-Daro. It has no citadel but the city plan follows the traditional grid, with burnt-brick houses and well-planned drainage. In 1957, EA. Khan discovered the Harappan site of Kot-Diji, a small town with a fortified citadel east of Mohenjo-Daro. More than eighty-five sites of the late Harappan period have been brought to light after a large-scale archaeological survey of Sourashtra and Gujarat. Lothal discovered by S.R. Rao (1954) situated at the head of the Gulf of Cambay flourished as a seaport and follows the traditional scheme of a citadel raised on a higher level. The Harappan phase shows characteristic features like the use of a standardized Indus script, engraved seals with unicorn and other animal motifs and standardized weights and measures as well as common styles of pottery ornaments, figurines and distinctive forms of artistic expression. Architectural features of baked-brick buildings, lined drains and wells are almost identical to those seen at other Indus sites, such as Mohenjo-Daro. Harappa was connected by trade to distant regions like Central Asia, the Persian Gulf, and Mesopotamia Mohenjo-daro an ancient city, one of the largest urban centres of the Indus civilization consists of numerous mounds spread over 25 h lac where more than 80000 people may have lived. It comprises multi-storeyed houses constructed from fine brick on massive platforms. It seems that a class of wealthy merchants lived there. At Kalibangan, the pre-Harappan settlement, like its Harappa successor, was fortified. Excavations at Rakhigarhi revealed some interesting evidence of the defence system adopted by the Harappans. And in other cities of the Indus Valley Civilization, the excavation in Dholavira in the Kachchh district of Gujarat was discovered in 1967-68. It revealed a major urban habitation that was well planned with roads running at right angles, buildings of special fine bricks, a simple and utilitarian architecture and an advanced system of water storage and management. It was the most important Harappan site in the Indian subcontinent ideally suited for a settlement having fortifications.
The second chapter reveals that it was by the first quarter of the fourth century A.D. that the Imperial Guptas had established their sovereignty over almost the whole of northern India and the regular building of structural temples in brick and dressed stone started in their regnal period. We can trace a clear and continuous chronological record of the political history of India. The country enjoyed unbroken unity, peace and prosperity during their rule of more than two centuries. They gave impetus to the renaissance of Hinduism. They ushered in a resurgence of cultural activity and heralded India's greatest efflorescence. A high watermark was reached in all phases of art, science and literature. Gupta's ideals served to inspire generations long after the empire had perished. The period under their immediate patronage fully deserves the name 'The Golden Age' of Indian art and culture as aesthetic principles of architecture, sculpture and painting were formulated in their region. Small structural shrines had been erected before the Gupta age belonging to the Mauryan period (3rd century B. C.). It was the one at Bairat as well as the two elliptical structures at Besnagar and Nagari and temple No. 40 at Sanchi. The inscriptions of the Gupta period reveal that the Hindu temples evolved during that period. Since this age marked the beginning of structural temples, a great number of them were erected and experiments in different types were made. The basic one consisted of the Cella (garbhagrha), the mandapa and the vestibule (antarala). An innovation of great significance was the use of dressed stone in building construction in the field of architecture. The architects grappled with the fresh problem of stability proportion and balance instead of imitating the wooden prototypes. The Gupta temples show a variety of types and forms-the most popular ones consist of a plan square flat-roofed garbhagrha (womb) to house the image of the deity and a low pillared mandapa in front to shelter the devotees. Gupta temples may be classified into different groups: the first square and flat-roofed with a shallow porch in front, like temple No. 17 at Sanchi; the second, with a covered ambulatory all around the cella, a very good example being the Parvati temple at Nachna Kuthara, the third, with a short shikhara above the garbhagrha, such as the brick temple at Bhitargaon and the Dasavatara at Deogarh. Temple No. 17 at Sanchi provides a good example of the early Gupta style with a plain square cella fronted by a pillared verandah. The Temple of Kankali Devi at Tigawa in Jabalpur district, probably the earliest instance of the true Gupta order, has vase-like capitals called Puma- Kalasa (bowl of plenty). The Temple of Visnu and Varahi at Eran, similar in plan proportions, probably belong to a somewhat later period. The importance of the Parvati Temple at Nachna Kuthara in the Panno district lies in the addition to the covered pradaksina path (circumambulatory passage) around the garbhagrha. The Dasavatara temple at Deogarh in the Jhansi district, dating from the fifth or early sixth centuries exemplifies the final form of the basic Hindu temple, reached towards the end of the Gupta period. Many shrines continued to retain the prevailing plan of Buddhist chaitya halls. Some chaitya halls later transformed into Hindu temples. In dealing with the temple architecture during the Gupta period, mention must be made of the shrines made of brick. The most important of these brick temples are the Bhitargaon in the Kanpur district, the original Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya, and the Laksmana temple at Sirpur. Bodha Gaya has the Visnupad-temple built in the 18th century. Six miles south of Gaya is the great temple of Bodh Gaya, one of the holiest places in the world, and the most sacred of all places to Buddhists. Asoka built a monastery and a temple here at the place where Buddha attained enlightenment.
The Siva Temple at Bhumara, Distt. Satan enshrines an impressive Ekamukhalinga. The Siva Temple at Sakar in Damoh (MP) has an affinity to the Bhumara temple. The Vamana Temple in District Jabalpur has a large Vamana image with other images and is similar to Bhumara Temple in elevational aspects. Then there are other temples like the Siva temple at Darra in Kota and Udaygiri caves, the terraced Visnu temple at Pawaya (Gwalior), the Lauriya-Nandangarh-a Buddhist site in north Bihar, the Siva Temple at Ahichhatra in Bareilly, the excavated brick and stucco stupa at Mirpurkhas in Sindh, the Maniyar Math in Magadh, site 3 at the Buddhist site of Nalanda, Stone Temple No. 2 at Nalanda, Visnu temple of Aphsad, Mundesvari Temple at Ramgardh meant for the worship of Mahisasurmardini etc., mostly exceptional in the plan. Dah Parvatiya near Tejpur (Assam) has a brick temple of Siva of the Ahom period. The Chaitya-hall makes its appearance as a free-standing temple of permanent materials in the Gupta period, eg. a shrine at Chezarla in Guntur.
As for the brick temples of lower Ganga- Yamuna Duab, the earliest evidence was found from Basenagar at Vidisha (M. P.) and Nagari district Chittor (3rd-4th c. BC)-developed in the late Mauryan age. The construction activities of brick temple architecture reached its climax during the Gupta period (c. 319 A: D-578 A.D.) which were reported from Dah-Parbatia (Assam), Sharkot (Sindhi), Mirpur Khas (Sindh), Bhitargaon (Kanpur), Bhitari district (Ghazipur), Ter in Andhra Pradesh and Mandhol in Nagpur. Several brick temples were constructed at Nagari, Mansar, Bhitari, Bhitargaon, Sirpur, Mirpurkhas, Devinmori, Dhahparbatia and Fatehpur during the Gupta- Vakataka age. Tower type profile is typically characteristic of the Nagar style of the Gupta period temple of Bhitargaon and the similar structure style of the brick temple of the Vakataka period early 5th century A.D. was recently exposed by A.K. Sharma and J.P. Joshi in Mansar. The architecture style at Mansar Siva-Vaman brick temple of early 5th century A.D. has a towering profile with a recessed corner in the ground plan. This temple style is identical to Bhitargoan and Sirpur brick temples. Vakatakas architecture (4th-5th century A.D.) shows models of such temples at Ajanta. Two brick temples of Sarhan Buzurg lie in Ananti at Jahanabad Road.
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